Writing to Henri Tempier and the novices and young students at Laus:<\/p>\n
\nI have drawn up right away the list of our rooms and have chosen the guardian saints that I wish to give to each dweller in them. Our patron saints would be already installed if we had found the pictures of all those whom we want to have as guests.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Letter to Henri Tempier, 9 January 1821, E.O. VI n. 58<\/em><\/p>\n
Eugene was profoundly aware of the importance of the communion of the saints \u2013 our ancestors in the faith. \u201cSaints\u201d in the usage of St. Paul referred to the communion of all baptized Christians, united and connected with one another in Jesus Christ, and which continued beyond their death in the fullness of the Kingdom.<\/p>\n
Tempier had written to Eugene to tell him how each room at Laus had been dedicated to a saint. They had decided that this was not going to be an empty gesture, but that the occupant of each room had to spend time reflecting and praying around that particular saint who would be his \u201cguest.\u201d<\/p>\n
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How are we\u2014saints in process\u2014related to the saints who have entered into the fullness of divine life? Elizabeth Johnson, in her splendid book on the communion of saints called Friends of God and Prophets, speaks of two different paradigms for understanding that relationship: \u201cone an egalitarian model that names [the saints] as companions and friends, the other a patriarchal [model] that casts certain privileged dead into positions of patronage.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n
In the first model they are that wonderful \u201ccloud of witnesses\u201d spoken of in Hebrews (12:1) who are our friends, encouraging us, rooting for us, also challenging us to complete the work they had begun.<\/em><\/p>\n
In the second model, they are seen as heavenly intercessors around the throne of God who manipulate heavenly strings for us. We are their clients and they are our patrons.<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 William H. Shannon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Writing to Henri Tempier and the novices and young students at Laus: I have drawn up right away the list of our rooms and have chosen the guardian saints that I wish to give to each dweller in them. Our … Continue reading